Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Cast Member Confidential by Chris MitchellDescription (courtesy of Goodreads.com):

What do you do when everything in your life falls apart? If you're Chris Mitchell, you run away from home--all the way to Disney World, a place where no one ever dies--and employees, known as Cast Members, aren't allowed to frown. Mitchell shares the behind-the-scenes story of his year in the Mouse's army. From his own personal Disneyfication, to what really happens in the hidden tunnels beneath the Magic Kingdom and what not to eat at the Mousketeria, it was a year filled with more adventure--and surprises--than he could ever have "imagineered."

Funny and moving, Mitchell tracks his ascent through the backstage social hierarchy in which princesses rule, and his escapades in the "Ghetto" where Cast Members live and anything goes. Along the way, he unmasks the misfits and drop-outs, lifers and nomads who leave their demons at the stage door as they preserve the magic that draws millions to this famed fantasyland--the same magic that Mitchell seeks and ultimately finds in the last place he ever expected.

I recently decided that this year, I would take my tax refund and the extra pay I'll be getting for not using sick time and take a vacation to celebrate my 30th birthday, which is in July. I was considering either Universal Studios, because I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and wanted to check out the Wizarding World park, or Disney, because, aside from Disneyland Paris when I was eighteen, I haven't been to Disney in over twenty years.

Note: There are still spoilers below, not just for the book, but the inner workings of Disney World. Consider yourselves warned.

I had read about this book on Amazon, I think, when searching or books about Disney or some such thing. I downloaded a sample to my Kindle, expecting just a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world's most iconic vacation spots.

Mitchell delivered on that front, describing in detail what it was like to be a professional photographer at Walt Disney World. He explained the theory of how Disney treats its guests and how ironclad a grip it has on things that go on within the park. He told stories of how as the new kid on campus he had to earn the trust of his fellow employees, who lived within a caste system based not only what their job was, but what type. Characters were the top the pyramid, but all-fur characters (such as Mickey) were beneath "face" characters, whose actual faces were on display. At the pinnacle, were the Disney Princesses.

Mitchell described the audition process and how characters are typed based on height and build. For example, because of height restrictions, most Mickey characters were female.

Although I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes stuff (which was, after all, why I started reading in the first place) I was quickly invested in Mitchell as a character. We learn early on that his mother has been diagnosed with cancer and his parents are trying to keep it from him. He learns about this from his brother, from whom he is more or less estranged. He loses his job and his girlfriend. His reaction to it all is to go get a job at Disney World, the one place from his childhood that was sacred to him.

Mitchell gets a job in Disney's Animal Kingdom snapping photos of children with Disney characters, which are then sold to the parents at a high markup. At first he struggles a bit with fitting in with the Disney culture, and also with making friends with his co-workers.

He goes to some trouble before he does finally earn their respect, and rises fairly high in the social strata of the Disney caste system. Still, all that glitters is not gold, as they say. He eventually manages to lose both his job and his girlfriend (an "Ariel" named Calico who turned out not to be what she seemed). However, he does gain some valuable perspective, so although that was a hard blow for the reader, it didn't sink the ship for me.

There were a couple of spots where I could have used a little more fiction and a little less fact. For example, when it comes out that Calico has been false, even though he was warned about her from the start I would have liked to have seen a more gradual change in her character. She went from Ariel to Cruella DeVil too quickly.

Still, it's an enjoyable read with an engaging narrator who is dealt a rough hand and attempts to deal with it in the best way he can think of, and it came with an insider look at Walt Disney World.

Friday, February 3, 2012

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

This was another book I found out about thanks to Grace over at Feeding My Book Addiction. I remember liking the premise and Grace's review, so I added it to my ever-growing To-Read list over at Goodreads and forgot about it for a little while.

Then it started calling to me. Every time I perused Grace's reviews or my To-Read list, I would see it. Finally, I could stand it no longer and I downloaded it to my Kindle and dug in the same night I finished reading Bird by Bird. Had I not been completely enthralled by vacation planning yesterday, I might have finished it a day sooner.

Note: The following review contains some spoilers.

Divergent takes place in a dystopian version of Chicago. The ancestors of this society decided that it was human nature, rather than political beliefs, race, or creed that was to blame for a world at war. It was our human proclivity towards evil that was to blame, so society divided itself into five "factions" according to where it saw the fault. These factions then sought to eliminate these vices:

When children in this society turn sixteen years of age, they are given an Aptitude Test. This test tells them in which faction they most likely belong. They then participate in a Choosing Ceremony, in which they choose for themselves whether to return to the faction they were raised in or a different one. If they choose a different one, they essentially turn their backs on their families and the community they've known all their lives, and are often seen as traitors.

We meet Beatrice "Tris" Prior the day before she and her brother, Caleb, will be taking their Aptitude Tests and then undergo the Choosing Ceremony. We learn that she feels she does not belong in Abnegation, that she feels she is selfish, that she is not content to sit quietly at the dinner table while her parents are talking, that she is inappropriately curious in the faction she's grown up in.

If for no other reason than I was presented with a protagonist who doesn't fit into the society she's raised into and is about to have to make a commitment about how she will live the rest of her life, I was on board from the first few pages. She's jealous of the way her brother seems to fit in with her parent's lifestyle

When her brother unexpectedly decides to transfer from Abnegation to Erudite, Beatrice feels enormous pressure to conform, to want to be in Abnegation for her parent's sake. The choice she makes will send her on a journey filled with adventure, friendship, betrayal, and even romance as she struggles to come to terms with the person she is.

Everything about this book is phenomenal: The characters, the plot, the pacing. I felt grabbed by the shoulders and dragged along as the novel took off at breakneck speed, leaving me to catch my breath when I finished. The plot in this novel is so tightly knit it could hold water. The tension, the suspense, the just-beneath-the-surface romance, are all electrifying, like holding a ball of lightning in the palm of my hand.

Divergent is Veronica Roth's debut novel, and Insurgent, book two of the Divergent trilogy will released May 1, 2012. I can't wait. Based on Divergent, I think we can expect great things from Roth's writing in the years to come.

It's difficult to believe it's February already. It seems like only yesterday I revitalized this blog by transitioning it from being about writing to reading. I'm extremely pleased with the results.

It's been an interesting week for me. I finished and reviewed John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. I also listened to P. G. Wodehouse's Right Ho, Jeeves. Although I did thoroughly enjoy Right Ho, Jeeves, it didn't seem to have the momentum of the other Jeeves novels I've read. Even though I understand how funny it is to let Bertie screw things up only to force him to swallow his pride, I found myself getting antsy in parts and just wanting to get to the next thing. It was the third Jeeves novel I'd listened to in a rather short span and maybe that was a little too much for me. But, I soldiered through and, in the end, I really did like it.

When I finished Right Ho, Jeeves, I downloaded Veronica Roth's Divergent. I remember reading Grace's review of this book over at Feeding My Book Addiction and thinking it sounded interesting.

Imagine my surprise when it began calling to me, much like Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. I think it's been nagging me for a while, to be honest, in a "you really want to read me" type way. So I caved, bought it on Kindle, and tucked in.

I'm not finished with it yet. I'm about 70% through, but it gripped me from the opening pages and has never really let me go. I don't want to go into detail yet because I want to do the book justice in my review when I finish it. Suffice it to say that this book has a fierce young female protagonist who is a fish out of water in a dystopian version of Chicago.

The energy of the writing and the strengths (and weaknesses) of the characters combined with the obstacles they face is like holding lightning in the palm of your hand. If you like: strong female protagonists, dystopian literature, fish out of water stories, coming of age stories, or just a damn good read, get thee to a library or bookstore and check out Veronica Roth's Divergent. If that hasn't enticed you enough, my review of the full novel should be along in the next few days, but I suggest you take my word for it, or check out Grace's review (linked above).

I'd like to give you an idea of what's coming up on my reading list, but I'm so enthralled by Divergent that I can't think about other books right now. Perhaps Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks, maybe I will finally sit down and read Stephen R. Lawhead's Hood, though I'm really digging first-person narrators right now so I might continue in that vein and start The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Time will tell.

Are you reading Divergent yet? If not, what precisely are you waiting for?

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
Audio version read by Jonathan CecilDescription (courtesy of Goodreads.com):

Has Jeeves Finally Lost His Grip? When Jeeves suggest dreamy, soulful Gussie Fink-Nottle don scarlet tights and a false beard in his bid to capture the affections of soppy Madeline Basset, Wooster decides matters have definitely got out of hand. Especially when it comes to a disagreement over a certain white mess jacket with brass buttons. Taking Jeeves off the case, he embarks on a little plan of his own to bring Madeline and Gussie together. But when things go disastrously wrong who can Bertie turn to in his hour of need but Jeeves?

My Thoughts:

This is another adventure featuring half-wit Bertie Wooster and his canny manservant Jeeves. In this tale, Bertie has spent two months in Cannes with his Aunt Deliah and cousin Angela, during which he purchased a white mess jacket that seemed to him all the rage but which, upon returning home, he learns that Jeeves feels is not fit for someone of Bertie's station. It is this incident that causes Bertie to think that Jeeves has lost his touch.

Bertram decides he must take matters into his own hands where it concerns solving the problems of his friends and relatives. Thus, engagements made and broken and made again, Aunt Dahlia's supreme cook, Anatole, resigns, and many other mishaps ensue as Bertie presses ahead advocating his own misguided (if well-intentioned) advice rather than consulting Jeeves.

I think this is another great romp with the characters of the Wooster universe. Wodehouse made me feel sympathetic for Bertie who, having employed a brilliant manservant whom people always approach for advice, feels insignificant and tries to assert himself to less than desirable, but quite funny, results. At the same time, however, I wanted to shake some sense into Bertie, who should know better than to spurn Jeeves' advice.

One thing leads to another and things escalate in this comedy of errors until it falls to Jeeves to save the day.

About Me

I'm a writer from Long Island, NY. I have my bachelor's from SUNY Potsdam in English Literature/Writing, have four and a half years' experience providing email technical support for a Flash-based web-hosting service and am now looking for work as a technical writer.